Vernon Richter
Vernon Richter
Trumpet, Flugelhorn
I am originally from San Antonio, Texas, and moved to Houston, Texas for my middle and high school years where I fell in love with the trumpet. I grew up listening to my older brother playing his Bari Sax and being in his jazz band at school where his band director would play records of the trumpet legend, Maynard Ferguson. That is all it took. From that time on, I loved the trumpet and the power it possessed. I excelled in music during my time in public school and enjoyed being in my first “garage band” which was a Chicago Tribute Band. After my senior year in high school, I was employed by Hanna Barbera and performed in one of their theme parks, “Hanna Barbera Land” in the Houston area. I performed daily as a Keystone Cop Band member playing songs on my trumpet and dancing throughout the park. This was a great first experience for learning to be a performer and not just a musician.
My love for this Chicago Band genre of music never diminished, but my musical career took a much different path as I studied Music Performance at East Texas State University, (now Texas A&M Commerce), focusing on classical trumpet playing. I spent years after college performing with orchestras in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area such as the Richardson Symphony, Lewisville Lake Symphony, East Texas Symphony, Mesquite Symphony and Flower Mound Symphony as well as playing in pit orchestras and playing shows such as “Singing In The Rain”, “Shrek”, “SpongeBob”, “The Sound of Music”, “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “In The Heights”, “Fiddler On The Roof”, “Hello, Dolly”, “Annie Get Your Gun”, and more!
Over the past 22 years, I dedicated myself to developing my teaching studio at the high school and middle school level and typically teach up to 75 lessons per week and three master classes throughout the school year. I have produced numerous students over the years to move onto the collegiate level in studying music education and performance at some of the finest music schools for trumpet in the country including Baylor University, The Julliard School, University of North Texas, Texas Christian University, University of Houston, Frost School of Music - University of Miami, Oklahoma State University and University of Colorado Boulder. I am active as an adjudicator in the Dallas area at the middle and high school level at solo & ensemble contests.
In 2013, I became a founding member of a professional brass dectet, Center Stage Brass, which is still active in the metroplex. I have served in the past as a weekly contract musician for Trietsch Memorial United Methodist Church in Flower Mound for nearly a decade.
In 2017 I became an Artist for both B&S Trumpets. Later in 2019 I became an Artist for Conn Selmer (Bach Corporation), before moving onto my newest custom-made trumpet by Bell Trumpets in 2024.
Even though I have enjoyed all of the music diversity through the years, I have always dreamed of being in another Chicago Tribute band since my days in high school and I’m now having the time of his life with my new band, “The Chicago Xperience”.
I currently reside in Lake Dallas, Texas with my beautiful wife, Dana, of 33 years along with our border collie, Sadie.
The video at the top of the page is my first custom trumpet made by Steve Bell of Bell Trumpets.
Click below to learn about Vernon Richter’s Custom Bell Trumpet.
Vernon Richter’s Custom Trumpet